My main disappointment with the UA Warlock is that it makes MC Warlock for more than 1 level a waste of time. The 5e Warlock I thought was a really good design to tempt players of other classes into MCing and then sticking with the Warlock to add basically 1/2 casting to any class you want. From level 1-5 there was always something one level away that was really good and worth skipping a level in your main class to get: 1st = subclass feature + spellcasting, 2nd = invocations, 3 = pact boon, 4 = ASI, 5 = 3rd level spells. Which really works thematically as signing a pact with some other being and getting tempted further and further into the deal. The new-lock, you get the pact boon at 1st then invocations at 2nd, then... not much... as the 1st tier of subclass features isn't usually that great and no 3rd level spells at 5th.
I played a Rogue-5 + Warlock-5 in 5e and those 5-lock levels really made me feel like a 1/2 caster, I've played with an EK x Warlock, several Paladin-locks and a couple bard-locks and the lock levels really give them that 1/2 caster feel. One D&D Warlock MCing by comparison leaves you as a 1/3 caster at which point you are probably better off taking a straight 1/2 caster class or a 1/3 caster subclass.
Mystic Arcanum can be taken for level 1 and 2 spells as well, so you can take up to 9. Probably why there are 9 invocations.
Or you can take none.
Pact castings short rest recharging was the main reason for Warlock's severely abbreviated spell list in 2014. Now they have access to the full Arcane list so Pact magic had to go.
Eldritch Blast as a class feature is WotC's tactic to prevent true full casters gaining access to it. Eldritch Blast, and its supporting invocations, are another reason why Warlocks can't be full casters. WotC regard it as that powerful.
Mystic Arcanum can’t taken until 5th level.
But it can still be taken as level 1 and 2 slots. At level 5 you take a 3rd level Mystic Arcanum, and change one of your other Mystic Arcanum (if a Tomelock, Agonizing Blast since you won't need it anymore) into a level 2 Mystic Arcanum. I wouldn't take a level 1 MA since Lessons of the First Ones allow you to take Magic Initiate, and that adds one level 1 spell that can be cast for free once per long rest, then with your spell slots until you run out of them, plus two cantrips.
A Celestial Tomelock Human who takes Magic Initiate twice as their racial/background feats, with Lessons of the First Ones for the third, has 13 cantrips at level 4, plus Eldritch Blast and their pact cantrip. Plus an additional 3 known level 1 spells, one divine, one arcane, and one primal, along with the two BoS ritual spells that can be from any spell list, and can be changed with an hour's downtime.
I've been thinking further about massaging the Warlock and the casting restrictions - I'm going to make some additional proposed modifications in my original post, but want to detail them here first. These are slow and deliberate power ramps to try to get the Warlock to a healthier place, rather than trying to overcorrect and having it slapped down as "too much". These change likely don't go far enough, but one step at a time.
Again I want to emphasize that I'm writing this under the assumption that we're stuck with half-casting as a baseline. I'm not advocating for that baseline, but I guess I'm kinda resigned that that's the case? Please don't take any of this as an endorsement of Warlock half-casting - my thoughts on that are way more nuanced and a much larger scope than I could cover in this thread.
Change to UA Hex spell writeup - alter the up-cast benefits to increased damage/duration at 2nd level and 4th level spell slots (rather than 3rd and 5th) to provide the damage boost earlier in play and remain competitive with Hunter's Mark. I'm intentionally not going to look for a bump to 4d6 (yet), because 3d6 on a single attack is only dependent on hitting once in the round, and missing attacks is still a thing. ;)
Change to modified Hex Master to reflect above change (cast at 4th rather than 5th - no other changes at this time).
Change to UA Mystic Arcanum Eldritch Invocation writeup - Add the text "At the end of a Long Rest, you may change the spell chosen for your Mystic Arcanum. If you take this invocation more than once, you may only swap one spell at the end of each Long Rest."
Move the 13th level Additional Mystic Arcanum to 15th.
Remove Enhanced Patron Spells, because the replaced version will be better.
At 13th level, add Eldritch Recovery: You regain an expended Spell Slot at the end of Short Rest. The level of this Spell Slot cannot exceed those you have spell slots for, as shown on the Warlock table.
They are trying to do too much with the UA Warlock and it’s just all over the place in my opinion.
The thing is... now that warlock doesn't have it's own spell list you can do an occultists full caster using either Sorcerer or Wizard really easily just by picking occult-y spells.
They are trying to do too much with the UA Warlock and it’s just all over the place in my opinion.
What's wrong with full caster gishes? Are you going to split/kick War Cleric, Forge Cleric, Moon Druid, Swords Bard, Valor Bard, Bladesinger etc out of the game too?
Some more thinking on the Warlock problem stack that go beyond pure progression. Wanted to share the thoughts (especially so I have notes for when the survey comes out).
Hex is a particular problem in the UA compared to core 5E for a number of reasons, including how unfavorably it compares to Hunter's Mark. I know this all has been pointed out elsewhere, but to summarize:
Hex is positioned as a keystone ability for Warlocks - they are supposed to be using it all the time. Which isn't a problem if it wasn't so terrible.
Damage progression, spell slot economy, and uptime are all extremely unfavorable compared to the Hunter's Mark analogue for Ranger
At the high end of the game, a Ranger can recast with a 1st level slot while concentrating on another spell and dish out up to 4d10 bonus damage per turn (before we even consider multiclass synergy with 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, or an extra Haste attack, but I digress...)
Requirements for up-casting to achieve full damage put Warlocks well behind the 5E curve, because it is fighting for maximum utility in those limited half-cast spell slots.
For clarity - 2d6/round isn't even possible until 9th level Warlock. 3d6 is gated behind 17th level.
To continue the Ranger comparison, Hunter's Mark can push 2d6/round at level 1 with two weapon fighting, and 3d6 at level 5 due to Extra Attack + two weapon fighting. 4d6 is achievable at 17th (Swift Quiver), and 18th bumps the dice to d10s.
Concentration removes the ability to leverage a number of other spells and abilities from the class.
This compounds with the limited spell budget. No Warlock is going to drop their all-day Hex to use Detect Magic from Eldritch Sight, even if the latter is a free cast.
As a class-exclusive spell (or near enough to one), it's amazing that WotC did not adjust the up-cast duration scaling when shifting 5th level spells from 9th level to 17th for Warlock.
Did I miss anything important in describing the problems with the spell in light of the UA changes?
Some more thinking on the Warlock problem stack that go beyond pure progression. Wanted to share the thoughts (especially so I have notes for when the survey comes out).
Hex is a particular problem in the UA compared to core 5E for a number of reasons, including how unfavorably it compares to Hunter's Mark. I know this all has been pointed out elsewhere, but to summarize:
Hex is positioned as a keystone ability for Warlocks - they are supposed to be using it all the time. Which isn't a problem if it wasn't so terrible.
Damage progression, spell slot economy, and uptime are all extremely unfavorable compared to the Hunter's Mark analogue for Ranger
At the high end of the game, a Ranger can recast with a 1st level slot while concentrating on another spell and dish out up to 4d10 bonus damage per turn (before we even consider multiclass synergy with 2 levels of Fighter for Action Surge, or an extra Haste attack, but I digress...)
Requirements for up-casting to achieve full damage put Warlocks well behind the 5E curve, because it is fighting for maximum utility in those limited half-cast spell slots.
For clarity - 2d6/round isn't even possible until 9th level Warlock. 3d6 is gated behind 17th level.
To continue the Ranger comparison, Hunter's Mark can push 2d6/round at level 1 with two weapon fighting, and 3d6 at level 5 due to Extra Attack + two weapon fighting. 4d6 is achievable at 17th (Swift Quiver), and 18th bumps the dice to d10s.
Concentration removes the ability to leverage a number of other spells and abilities from the class.
This compounds with the limited spell budget. No Warlock is going to drop their all-day Hex to use Detect Magic from Eldritch Sight, even if the latter is a free cast.
As a class-exclusive spell (or near enough to one), it's amazing that WotC did not adjust the up-cast duration scaling when shifting 5th level spells from 9th level to 17th for Warlock.
Did I miss anything important in describing the problems with the spell in light of the UA changes?
Hex should work exactly like Hunter’s Mark for UA Rangers.
Always prepared not counting against maximum amount of spells prepared and doesn’t require concentration.
Hex should work exactly like Hunter’s Mark for UA Rangers.
Always prepared not counting against maximum amount of spells prepared and doesn’t require concentration.
I agree with the three specific things you listed (and the first two are already present), but don't know that it should be identical overall. Not requiring concentration would be a bare minimum buff to get Hex closer to where it's meant to be, in my opinion.
I honestly prefer the flavor of a once-per-turn damage bump over the smooth 1d6 per hit. It means that if you land any of your Eldritch Blast hits, you're guaranteed the full damage bump, which statistically will lead to more damage per round against high AC opponents. But the total damage boost should be comparable at the high end, and 3d6 vs 4d10 isn't remotely comparable.
Hex should work exactly like Hunter’s Mark for UA Rangers.
Always prepared not counting against maximum amount of spells prepared and doesn’t require concentration.
What's the point of keeping Hex as a spell? At this point just turn it into a class feature for Warlocks: As a BA you can mark one creature within 90ft of you that you can see, the first time you hit that creature with an attack roll on your turn you deal an additional 1d6 necrotic damage to it. This damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class 2d6 at 5th, 3d6 at 11th and 4d6 at 17th.
I've expressed the view that Hex should be a cantrip. It scales with Warlock levels, like Eldritch Blast, and does require concentration (because a free spell should have some downside).
1d6 to 4d6 damage, once per turn.
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My main disappointment with the UA Warlock is that it makes MC Warlock for more than 1 level a waste of time. The 5e Warlock I thought was a really good design to tempt players of other classes into MCing and then sticking with the Warlock to add basically 1/2 casting to any class you want. From level 1-5 there was always something one level away that was really good and worth skipping a level in your main class to get: 1st = subclass feature + spellcasting, 2nd = invocations, 3 = pact boon, 4 = ASI, 5 = 3rd level spells. Which really works thematically as signing a pact with some other being and getting tempted further and further into the deal. The new-lock, you get the pact boon at 1st then invocations at 2nd, then... not much... as the 1st tier of subclass features isn't usually that great and no 3rd level spells at 5th.
I played a Rogue-5 + Warlock-5 in 5e and those 5-lock levels really made me feel like a 1/2 caster, I've played with an EK x Warlock, several Paladin-locks and a couple bard-locks and the lock levels really give them that 1/2 caster feel. One D&D Warlock MCing by comparison leaves you as a 1/3 caster at which point you are probably better off taking a straight 1/2 caster class or a 1/3 caster subclass.
But it can still be taken as level 1 and 2 slots. At level 5 you take a 3rd level Mystic Arcanum, and change one of your other Mystic Arcanum (if a Tomelock, Agonizing Blast since you won't need it anymore) into a level 2 Mystic Arcanum. I wouldn't take a level 1 MA since Lessons of the First Ones allow you to take Magic Initiate, and that adds one level 1 spell that can be cast for free once per long rest, then with your spell slots until you run out of them, plus two cantrips.
A Celestial Tomelock Human who takes Magic Initiate twice as their racial/background feats, with Lessons of the First Ones for the third, has 13 cantrips at level 4, plus Eldritch Blast and their pact cantrip. Plus an additional 3 known level 1 spells, one divine, one arcane, and one primal, along with the two BoS ritual spells that can be from any spell list, and can be changed with an hour's downtime.
I've been thinking further about massaging the Warlock and the casting restrictions - I'm going to make some additional proposed modifications in my original post, but want to detail them here first. These are slow and deliberate power ramps to try to get the Warlock to a healthier place, rather than trying to overcorrect and having it slapped down as "too much". These change likely don't go far enough, but one step at a time.
Again I want to emphasize that I'm writing this under the assumption that we're stuck with half-casting as a baseline. I'm not advocating for that baseline, but I guess I'm kinda resigned that that's the case? Please don't take any of this as an endorsement of Warlock half-casting - my thoughts on that are way more nuanced and a much larger scope than I could cover in this thread.
The more I look at the UA Warlock the more it looks like it should be two classes instead of one:
Hexblade - Arcane half caster gish type.
Warlock - Occultist full caster.
They are trying to do too much with the UA Warlock and it’s just all over the place in my opinion.
The thing is... now that warlock doesn't have it's own spell list you can do an occultists full caster using either Sorcerer or Wizard really easily just by picking occult-y spells.
What's wrong with full caster gishes? Are you going to split/kick War Cleric, Forge Cleric, Moon Druid, Swords Bard, Valor Bard, Bladesinger etc out of the game too?
Some more thinking on the Warlock problem stack that go beyond pure progression. Wanted to share the thoughts (especially so I have notes for when the survey comes out).
Hex is a particular problem in the UA compared to core 5E for a number of reasons, including how unfavorably it compares to Hunter's Mark. I know this all has been pointed out elsewhere, but to summarize:
Did I miss anything important in describing the problems with the spell in light of the UA changes?
Hex should work exactly like Hunter’s Mark for UA Rangers.
Always prepared not counting against maximum amount of spells prepared and doesn’t require concentration.
I agree with the three specific things you listed (and the first two are already present), but don't know that it should be identical overall. Not requiring concentration would be a bare minimum buff to get Hex closer to where it's meant to be, in my opinion.
I honestly prefer the flavor of a once-per-turn damage bump over the smooth 1d6 per hit. It means that if you land any of your Eldritch Blast hits, you're guaranteed the full damage bump, which statistically will lead to more damage per round against high AC opponents. But the total damage boost should be comparable at the high end, and 3d6 vs 4d10 isn't remotely comparable.
What's the point of keeping Hex as a spell? At this point just turn it into a class feature for Warlocks: As a BA you can mark one creature within 90ft of you that you can see, the first time you hit that creature with an attack roll on your turn you deal an additional 1d6 necrotic damage to it. This damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class 2d6 at 5th, 3d6 at 11th and 4d6 at 17th.
I've expressed the view that Hex should be a cantrip. It scales with Warlock levels, like Eldritch Blast, and does require concentration (because a free spell should have some downside).
1d6 to 4d6 damage, once per turn.